Fun Alternative Casting: Was We Robbed?

Doctor Omega

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frankenstein1.jpg


The above poster is genuine.

Bela Lugosi was all lined up to play the Frankenstein Monster in the 1931 film.


Immediately, following his success in Dracula, Bela Lugosi had hoped to play Dr. Frankenstein in Universal's original film concept, but the actor was expected by Carl Laemmle Jr. to be the Monster[5] (a common move for a contract player in a film studio at the time) to keep his famous name on the bill.[6] After several disastrous make-up tests (said to resemble that of Paul Wegener in The Golem), the Dracula star left the project. Although this is often regarded as one of the worst decisions of Lugosi's career, in actuality, the part that Lugosi was offered was not the same character that Karloff eventually played. The character in the Florey script was simply a killing machine without a touch of human interest or pathos, reportedly causing Lugosi to complain, "I was a star in my country[7] and I will not be a scarecrow over here!"[8] Florey later wrote that "the Hungarian actor didn't show himself very enthusiastic for the role and didn't want to play it." However, the decision may not have been Lugosi's in any case, since recent evidence suggests that he was kicked off the project, along with director Robert Florey when the newly arrived James Whale asked for the property.



Of course, we now know that in some corner of the multiverse, he did play it.:emoji_alien:

But would film history have been badly changed if he did?

And what other films could have been changed by the castings that almost were?
 
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